1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a flywheel energy-storage device. More particularly the present invention relates to a rotatable flywheel mounted on a vertical shaft and provided with a bearing, said flywheel being releasably couplable to a drive mechanism and interacting with a driven mechanism.
2. Prior Art
A known energy-storage device of this type is installed in the transmission of an automobile (see the newspaper Die Welt, of Apr. 5, 1980). An electric motor sets the flywheel into rotation at high rpm. The kinetic energy of the flywheel is used to drive an electric generator. If the heavy flywheel is rigidly mounted on the shaft which then has bearings on each of its two ends, the lower bearing must support the weight of the flywheel. Since the friction losses are quite high, a large part of the kinetic energy of the flywheel is lost to friction.